Area Attacks
Attacks which cover a multi-square area. Select the square you want to target first, and then measure out from the target square. Example 2-by-2 square radius. Other such effects like the Lightning Bolt spell cover a special area (in this case, a line). Use the user as the origin, and measure out from there in a straight line.
Squares adjacent to characters who are armed are considered "threatened squares". Some weapons or racial abilities allow for reach, giving characters a larger amount of threatened squares. If an enemy moves through the character's threatened square(s), they get an attack of opportunity on them. Using the "step" action doesn't provoke, and entering a threatened square doesn't provoke. The following other actions provoke attack of opportunities, as listed below.
Characters can gain multiple attacks of opportunity through the Combat Reflexes feat. This grants an additional amount of attacks of opportunity equal to the character's Agility (minimum of 1).
Ability damage is a certain type of damage only dealt to a creature's ability score. This is typically done through poisons, diseases, and other debilitating effects. Ability damage can be recovered after 8 hours of rest. If a character reaches 0 in an ability score due to ability damage, effects occur that are varied by which ability score is affected.
Ability drain is similar to ability damage, but can only be recovered through magic.
Grenades and other similar explosives cover a "burst" instead of an area attack. When doing a burst, choose a corner of the square you want to affect, measuring out from the corner. Spells similarly list a “6 square burst radius”.
In the case of grenades and "splash" weapons, they deal half damage to those they hit outside of the original target square.
Poor lighting, gas, smoke, foliage, and many other environmental effects can grant one concealment, making it harder for them to hit you. This doesn’t represent a physical body blocking you, only there being an inability to see properly. Concealment imposes a 20% miss chance on attacks.
More severe than regular concealment, total concealment occurs when one has line of effect to an enemy, but not line of sight (example: being blind). This is a 50% miss chance on attacks, and you can’t make attack of opportunities against people with total concealment.
Characters gain a +4 bonus to Defense while in cover. Granting it could be trees, walls, cars, or boxes. So long as it’s physically in the way of the attack to a degree.
Partial cover is when only part of your body is being concealed by a solid object (example: a car blocking anything below the legs, but not above it). This is instead a +2 bonus to Defense.
If you do not have line of effect to the target (you can’t draw a line from your square to theirs without crossing a solid barrier) they have total cover and can’t be attacked.
In cases such as attacking through an arrow slit, a target may have “improved cover”. In this case, the bonus is doubled and grants a +8 to Defense.
A coup de grace is a full-round action and involves skewering or otherwise brutalizing a downed foe. The opponent needs to be paralyzed, helpless, or unconscious in order to do this. An attack is made against their Defense, and on a successful hit the damage dealt is counted as if a critical hit, and the called shot can be directed anywhere of the attacker’s choosing with no attack penalty.
Broken ground, steep stairs, or even climbing up mountainous terrain can provide difficulty when moving. It costs twice as much in movement to move through squares of difficult terrain. Creatures larger than 1 square pay the cost of difficult terrain if part of their token lands upon a square containing difficult terrain.
As a standard action, a character can intentionally defend themselves. This grants them a +2 bonus on Defense, steeling themselves for the outcome of the attack. If they spent a full-round action, they instead receive a +6 bonus to Defense. While using Partial or Total Defense, failed Dodge or Parry attempts do not waste a usage of a Dodge or Parry.
Robots, vehicles, and other electrical devices can be heavily affected by weapons that deal electricity damage. Weapons that deal electricity damage are considered “ion weapons” in that they can severely cripple machinery. Organic beings without cybernetics take the standard damage. Mechanical beings, vehicles, or organic beings with cybernetics take an additional +10 electricity damage, and are considered “fatigued”, even if they’d normally be immune to that condition. The damage is always considered lethal, even if delivered from a nonlethal weapon.
Moving through the squares of allies doesn’t cost anything, however the same can’t be said for moving through an enemies’ square. Trying to move through an enemies’ square requires you to succeed at a DC 20 Acrobatics check.
Being prone imposes a -1k0 penalty to attacking with melee, and grants enemies attacking a prone enemy a +1k0 bonus to hit. Enemies attempting to hit a prone enemy from range take a -1k0 to hit however. Being prone (ex: behind a wall) could grant total cover.
Creatures with regeneration recover an amount of HP on their turn equal to that of their listed regeneration. For some creatures, this regeneration can be suppressed by certain weapons or effects. For example: Regeneration 5 (Cold) means the creature recovers 5 HP on its turn, and this regeneration is stopped if it takes cold damage. Regeneration is suppressed for 2 rounds.
Regeneration restores lost limbs, and this takes a number of days equal to 15 - the amount the Regeneration is. (For example; Regeneration 5 allows the creature to restore a lost limb after 10 days.)
When using ranged weapons at an enemy who is currently engaged in melee, the shooter can choose one of two things: take a -2k0 to prevent the risk of hitting your allies, or take no penalty and take the risk of hitting your allies. If the latter is chosen and the shooter misses the target's Defense or Avoid by 5 or more, or critically fails, they instead hit someone they're engaged in melee with (GM's choice).
Spell Resistance represents a special defense a magic user must overcome in order to make their spell work effectively, otherwise the spell fizzles out and is useless on the creature (though area attacks still function unless the creature targeted was the origin). Spell Resistance is calculated with 15 + double Resistance + ¼ Luck.
Sometimes a character receives horrible luck during the initiative phase, and rolls poorly. Yet, this doesn't mean they're stuck with this! Once per encounter at the end of the first round they act in, characters may choose to 'regain their footing' before a new round is started. Those who wish to reroll their initiative may do so, but if they must take the new result even if it's worse.
Damage which is nonlethal is made in an attempt not to kill someone. This includes hitting someone with the blunt of a weapon to knock them out, or using a spell to stun their systems. Nonlethal damage is counted on top of lethal damage, the only difference being that once a character reaches 0 HP due to nonlethal damage they fall unconscious and don't go beyond 0 HP. Instead they are unconscious for 1 hour per nonlethal damage over 0 they've taken. Characters who have been knocked unconscious through nonlethal damage can be woken up before the hours are up, counting themselves as being at 1 HP.
Combat isn't always about attacking and damaging. Sometimes it's about hitting enemies in a certain way, or even forcibly moving them across the battlefield. The following are combat maneuvers one can perform below.
All of these attacks, unless otherwise stated, go against an opposing Defense. If a character has multiple attacks per round, they can substitute one attack for a combat maneuver and continue with the rest of their attacks.